[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 16 (Monday, February 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1198-S1199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 BERNICE SCOTT: CHAMPION OF THE PEOPLE

 Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, Bernice Scott, of the Richland 
County Council, is a philanthropist in the truest sense of the word.
  Bernice is generous with heart, time, talent, and money and employs 
these

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resources on behalf of the community and in particular for those less 
fortunate. Her largess is well known and more than one child remembers 
her for the gift of shoes or school supplies that made it possible to 
attend school. Each winter she hosts a dinner for senior citizens in 
need and every spring, in her mother's memory, she throws a banquet for 
the entire community.
  Bernice's efforts on behalf of individuals and the community at large 
is legendary. Always one to go the extra mile, Bernice has driven to 
Washington and slept in her car in the battle for a sewer for a small 
community. She has led countless countywide efforts to improve roads, 
storm water drainage, sewer, and water conditions. Her constituents 
have full faith in her ability to make things happen. Whether saving 
the Lower Richland Rural Health Center, improving recreation facilities 
for children, or turning out the vote with her ``Wrecking Crew'', 
Bernice Scott is always sure to be in the thick of things.
  Bernice grew up the 7th of 11 children on a family farm. She is 
married to Deacon Thomas Gilmore and is the mother of two children and 
three grandchildren. First elected to county council in September 1988, 
Bernice Scott is the first African-American to chair Richland County 
Council. In addition to her duties on county council, she has held the 
positions of assistant to the court administrator, county ombudsman, 
records clerk in the county treasurer's office, tax collector and 
assistant to the clerk of council for Richland County. She is a member 
and a deaconess of Mount Nebo Baptist Church in Gasden, SC.
  A short list of her civic activities include: member of the Central 
Midlands Regional Planning Council, the HOME Committee, vice-chair of 
the Transportation Committee, member of the Richland County 
Administration and Finance Committee, member of the Soil and Water 
Conservation Board, and chairperson of the board of directors for 
Richland Community Health Care Association.
  Bernice Scott is the embodiment of public service at its very 
best.

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